"Don't count your chickens before they've hatched" is another variation on this advice that has endured over time. Another one more specific to the Southern U.S. that I picked up from American blues music is "Fattening Frogs For Snakes" (meaning considerable effort is put into doing something without the doer reaping any positive results).
Nice, I like the southern US frog example, though I'm not sure I've ever heard it. It certainly implies wasting time and effort on the thing that's not very important, although baby/bathwater still implies something a bit different (throwing out the bathwater is actually what you're supposed to do, but you're not necessarily supposed to feed frogs).
Wheat/chaff makes me think about food analogies that might be useful. "Don't throw out that unopened packet of Taco Bell Fire sauce" is some advice I tried to follow during the early to mid 90s.
Full of pith and vinegar. Top tier jr high cafeteria prank was stomping on those packets. Then McNuggets came out and you had dipping sauces and those don’t even fit in your pocket. ‘Twas tragedy
Reminds me of this guy who mines the sidewalks outside of jewelry stores for gold and gems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LTGZH99DBQ
It's getting weird out there! Sincerely, that looks like something I would have tried around the age of 11 or 12.
"Smoke on the water.
Diamonds in the doodypoop."
I think this one risks triggering overlapping connotations with "diamond in the rough," which is typically used in other contexts.
How about something modern like "Don't format your computer to delete a spam message" or "Don't tank the global economy to impose a tariff"
I mean, the tariff/economy one is really just the nose/face one, right? There might be something in the spam idea, though.
Let's keep cooking.
Burn the house down to kill a spider?
Chop your head off to get rid of a migraine?
Throw out the limousine because the ashtray is full (I think that was a standalone joke at some point)?
I don't think I've heard the ashtray one, but I actually really like it!
Burning houses down to kill spiders is just good practice.
"Don't count your chickens before they've hatched" is another variation on this advice that has endured over time. Another one more specific to the Southern U.S. that I picked up from American blues music is "Fattening Frogs For Snakes" (meaning considerable effort is put into doing something without the doer reaping any positive results).
Nice, I like the southern US frog example, though I'm not sure I've ever heard it. It certainly implies wasting time and effort on the thing that's not very important, although baby/bathwater still implies something a bit different (throwing out the bathwater is actually what you're supposed to do, but you're not necessarily supposed to feed frogs).
Or the Ying-Yang type phrase, “Every cloud has a silver lining”…
Speaking of Yin/Yang, have you happened to watch this season of White Lotus? There's a lot of that going on.
Don’t have HBO…
You might appreciate just reading about the plot. I found the symbolism powerful and it gave me pause a few times.
Inside every bad there is a good
I forgive your stick demon for your diamond poop. Maybe not be the best saying, but we need more poop emojis.
Don't throw out the wheat with the chaff is pretty much the same, right?
Yeah, very similar! It's not very evocative or memorable, though (unless you lived through a famine, maybe). What else you got?
Nothing, I got nothing. Fresh outta pith.
We are poop out of luck!
Wheat/chaff makes me think about food analogies that might be useful. "Don't throw out that unopened packet of Taco Bell Fire sauce" is some advice I tried to follow during the early to mid 90s.
Full of pith and vinegar. Top tier jr high cafeteria prank was stomping on those packets. Then McNuggets came out and you had dipping sauces and those don’t even fit in your pocket. ‘Twas tragedy
I definitely remember playing Ketchup Stomp!